What I Go To School For
by janually
Summary: When Sakura gets a job at her old high school, she's surprised to see an old history teacher of hers still teaching classes. She's even more surprised to find that her schoolgirl crush on him hasn't faded with time. AU.


Sakura's new boss believed in corporal punishment.

At least, that's what she assumed when a boy about sixteen bolted out of his high school principal's office, high fived a group of friends, and shouted, "Hell yeah, I just got paddled!"

It wasn't until Sakura visited the principal's office herself and saw a rather... well-endowed woman polishing a dark wooden paddle that she understood why a teenage boy would enjoy such painful and demeaning forms of discipline. The woman seemed quite caught up in her cleaning, and Sakura merely stood by the open door for a solid three minutes, wondering what she should do. In the end, she decided a polite clearing of the throat wouldn't be too disruptive.

Oh, how wrong she'd been. She coughed quietly and immediately had to duck to avoid being hit in the face by the paddle that had been in her new boss's hands just seconds ago. She glanced warily at the dent it had left in the wall, then looked back to the blonde before her and straightened up.

"Um. Hello," she greeted meekly.

The woman only stared at Sakura blankly for a long moment, then heaved a great sigh and pulled open one of her desk drawers. "And I only just finished with the last brat," she muttered with a disappointed shake of her head. Out of the drawer, she pulled a ruler. It was a not the standard meter stick, nor a foot long ruler, but rather one between the two lengths. It was by no means a regulation ruler, and Sakura doubted if it had even been made for measuring.

This notion was encouraged by the fact that the ruler said in bold black letters on the back "THE PUNISHER". The lump that had suddenly risen in her throat was hard to swallow.

"Who sent you here?" the principal asked in a tone both sugary sweet and terrifyingly intimidating. "What are you being punished for? If it's that damn Yamanaka woman, run back and tell her you can't be blamed for staring at her ass when she dresses the way she does-"

"I wasn't staring at her ass!" Sakura exclaimed. "Or, well, I mean... I'm not a student."

"You're not?" She looked down at her ruler disappointedly and stroked it with her left hand, then sadly put it back where it came from. "Shame. Who are you then?"

"I'm the new student teacher."

Something in the blonde's eyes changed, like she was only seeing Sakura for the first time just now, and she gave the new employee a quick once-over before heaving an exasperated sigh. "They keep getting younger, don't they?" she murmured as she begrudgingly stowed the Punisher away. She emerged from behind her desk and gave Sakura's hand a brisk shake. "My name is Tsunade, but you will address me only as Principal. Or Ma'am. Whichever suits you better. That's the first rule."

Tsunade released Sakura's hand and shouldered past her to get through the office door. Sakura took this as an invitation - no, a command - to follow. She did so obediently, asking curiously, "The first?"

"Yes." A smug little grin curled the corners of Tsunade's lips and she continued, "I have five rules. Memorize them. Rule number two-" She held up two slender finders. "-don't bother sucking up. I already hate you. That's not going to change."

Sakura wasn't sure if Tsunade was trying to be funny or not, but she allowed a small chuckle, just in case. Even if her new boss was being completely serious - which was probably the case - perhaps this would show that Sakura wasn't entirely lacking in the sense of humor department.

Tsunade took Sakura on a short tour of the high school, showing her the staff break room and the cafeteria where she would be given discounted food if she didn't bring her own lunch (and it was highly encouraged that she did) and giving her peeks into the classrooms that Tsunade was quick to remind her she would probably never see again - she had one classroom to attend and one classroom only.

None of the rules really sunk in, but Sakura did manage to catch the last one that Tsunade relayed to her outside the room that Sakura would actually be teaching in. The overbearing blonde told her in precise words not to discipline any of the students by making them copy lines or telling them to clean up after class. These were all, in Tsunade's eyes, insufficient punishments and any ne'er-do-wells were to be sent straight to her office, no ifs, ands, or buts.

Sakura didn't have to think twice before deciding that some rules were meant to be bent just a little bit.

Tsunade dismissed Sakura then and began to walk back to her office, but it didn't escape Sakura's notice that she had failed to mention the name of the teacher Sakura would be working for.

"Wait! Tsu- um, Principal?"

Tsunade turned around and a group of boys nearby turned to look at her, or rather a certain part of her anatomy. Sakura shook her head and ignored them.

"You forgot to tell me who I'm working for? Besides you, of course." She paused then added as an afterthought, "Ma'am."

There was that smirk again. Tsunade crossed her arms - the boys snickered at the effect this had on her body - and said quite firmly, "If you want to know who it is, then go on in and introduce yourself. I'm not your mother. You're on your own now, kid."

She sashayed away again, a hint of smugness in her step that gave Sakura an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach. Instead of dwelling on it, she turned her attention to the teenagers who had been ogling Tsunade before - their gazes were now focused on a different part of Tsunade's body and Sakura fought back the urge to smack them upside the head. Instead, she cleared her throat for their attention. They looked at her, bemused, and she snapped, "Mind your eyes."

Ignoring their laughter, she finally entered the classroom she'd been assigned to. It was empty, of course, given that it was the students' lunch break. Empty, except for the white-haired man who sat slumped over at the largest desk in the room. Presumably, he was the classroom's teacher.

_Oh, God,_ she groaned inwardly. _They've given me some geezer who can barely stay awake, haven't they?_

She took a few more tentative steps into the room and set her purse down in front of the whiteboard. "Um," she said quietly. "Hello? I'm the new student teacher..."

The slouched figure shifted in response, though he didn't do much else. Sakura wondered if he really might be asleep, and went to go tap his shoulder to wake him. But when she got closer enough, he suddenly slid his rolling chair away from her and looked up, annoyance in his eyes.

His eyes. They were the strangest eyes Sakura had ever seen, by a long shot. One of them was a dark gray, almost black, and the other was a blazing red, marked by a scar on the eyelid. He was wearing a scarf around his mouth, but from her position, she could look straight down into it at his thin lips, quirked upward on one side in a permanent smirk.

The realization clicked and she perked up, an incredulous smile taking place on her lips. She asked, "Mr. Hatake?"

The annoyance in his eyes immediately faded and she could see his lips form a similar grin. "I know you," he said. "You think we've known each other long enough for you to call me Kakashi?"

"Unfortunately," she grumbled with a roll of her eyes. "So you remember? Junior year, fifth period Social Science. In other words, the worst class I've ever taken."

"Sakura Haruno," he finished for her, leaning back in his chair to get a better look at her. She pressed her lips together tightly when his eyes roamed her older, more mature body, stopping in places she would have smacked any other man for staring at. But this was her new superior. She was sure smacking him would get her fired at the very least. "You really hated my class that much?" he asked her, meeting her eyes again.

"You sat the prettiest girls in front and looked down their shirts every chance you got," Sakura scoffed, recalling her disgust ever time she'd seen him glance at a girl that wasn't her, and similarly, the strange thrill she'd gotten every time he'd looked at her. "Except for me. You sat me in front because I was smart, unlike those other bimbos."

"Of course, of course. Couldn't be because I found you even remotely attractive, as young as you were." He winked at her. "That would be wildly inappropriate, now wouldn't it?"

"I should say so." She glanced around the room awkwardly for a moment before her eyes settled on a familiar orange book, lying open on his desk. Her nose wrinkled when she spotted it and she backed away a step, aghast at his choice in "literature", if that was even what it should be called. "I see you're still reading the same perverted books," she noted.

"They're my favorite," he said with a nod.

"Do you really think that kind of literature is appropriate for children?" she asked him harshly.

He laughed outright at this and said, "They're not the ones reading it, are they? And these aren't _children_, Sakura. They're _young adults_."

A burst of raucous laughter came from outside the classroom and the two teachers simultaneously turned to see what had caused it. Through the window in the door, they saw the same group of boys Sakura had accosted earlier goofing off, making fart noises with their hands under their armpits. Sakura turned back to Kakashi and pointed to the door with a look in her eyes that clearly said, _Young adults? Really?_

"Some of them, anyway," Kakashi said with a laugh.

Sakura cracked a genuine smile at that. She had to admit that despite his flawed personality, he was a funny guy. He always had been, at least as long as she had known him. And beyond that, he was actually a good teacher. All of her other classes, Sakura had passed by reading up on the subject in library books and studying the text for hours. She couldn't say she'd learned anything valuable from the teachers she'd had in high school, but the A+ she'd scored in Social Science her junior year could be credited almost entirely to Kakashi's great teaching techniques.

Also, she wasn't going to deny (at least in her mind) that he was attractive and that she had definitely paid more attention to him than any of her other teachers back in high school, but that was completely irrelevant. High school girls would be high school girls, hormones and all. It hadn't helped that her first boyfriend, Sasuke Uchiha, had broken up with her just before the start of their junior year and she was desperate to find anybody who could ease the heartbreak. At the time, crushing on a man fourteen years her senior seemed like a pretty good idea. Even if she did reiterate to anyone who asked that she hated him with every fiber of her being.

The bell rang before they could say anything else to each other, and after two painfully awkward introductions to his next two classes where she had to explain in detail that pink hair _could_ be hereditary and that genetics went a lot deeper than basic, ninth grade Punnett squares, the school day was over.

Sakura felt obligated to wait for Kakashi while he helped a girl with last night's homework. He kept throwing her pointed glances, saying with his eyes, _See? I'm being good, my eyes are staying right on her face!_ She rolled her eyes at him each time until he finally gave the student a pat on the shoulder for extra encouragement and she scampered away, showing her new A+ to the group of teenagers that waited for her outside the door.

"You gave her an A+?" Sakura asked. "She bombed that assignment. I wasn't even here when you taught the material, and even I know that."

"She's a hard worker," Kakashi explained. "She's not too bright, but she tries and it was her first F. I told her if she listened closely while I helped her and fixed the worksheet while I talked, I'd change her grade."

"That's not very fair to the other students, is it?"

"The other students don't try as hard as she does," Kakashi said with a shrug. "She doesn't deserve an F."

"How many times did you do me a favor like that?"

"You never needed it." He got up from his chair and gave her a friendly pat on the back, though it was a little lower than Sakura expected it to be and she automatically shied away from his touch. He didn't notice, or if he did, he didn't say anything. Instead, he clapped his hands together enthusiastically and said, "Okay! So, my bright former student is now my student teacher. This calls for some celebration. Drinks on me?"

Sakura laughed - just one short scoff. "It's three o'clock," she said.

"It's never too early to drink," he exclaimed. "But I actually meant a little later. Maybe seven or eight?"

"Are you asking me on a date, Mr. Hatake?" she asked warningly.

"What? A date? No!" He waved his hands dismissively, as if the very idea was preposterous, but the way he said it implied that he wouldn't be averse to asking her on some dates in the future. "Please, Sakura, I am a professional."

"A professional meeting between two coworkers then?" Sakura tossed the idea around in her head, having drinks with Kakashi. Well, a bit of alcohol would do her well, considering she would probably have to explain the next morning to four more groups of students how genetics worked and why her hair was such a peculiar color. She finally agreed, "Fine. Okay. But if you're a professional, you'll refer to me as Ms. Haruno."

"Ms. Haruno. Sure." He nodded, then added under his breath, "In front of the kids, at least."

* * *

><p>Sakura knew, had known it the minute he proposed it, that it was a terrible idea to accept drinks from Kakashi. And yet she was broke and thirsty and needed some alcohol in her system tonight if she was ever going to face the kids tomorrow. So she had begrudgingly allowed him to take her out to the local bar, strictly as friends and coworkers, of course. And, well, if he wanted to buy her more than one beer, it was his money, not hers. She didn't have to worry about it, right?<p>

She only had to worry about it when she started to get tipsy, and by that point, she didn't have it in her to worry at all. She was a careless drunk, and she knew it, but when he offered her another drink, she couldn't refuse. She hadn't really let herself go in a long time and it felt good to drink irresponsibly again.

The only problem with her willingness to take any drink offered to her was that along with the carelessness that came with being drunk, she became more and more loose-lipped. Of course, she wasn't so bad that she had no filter, but with every drink, it became harder to discern between what was okay to talk about and what was not.

By the time he brought up the subject she ordinarily would have steered quite clear of, she still had a good enough sense of judgement to at least _think_ about answering first.

"So, how's your love life?" he asked as he sipped on a bottle of beer - his first. "Better than mine, I hope."

She wondered if this conversation stemmed from the thoughts she'd had earlier, when she was recalling her school girl crush on him. Then she remembered he wouldn't have known she was thinking that at the time. She hadn't told him about that, had she? Dear Lord, she hoped not. And if she wanted to keep from spilling it now, she had to stay focused on the subject at hand.

"We really gonna talk about romance?" she answered, eyeing him suspiciously as if there _was_ a way he could have known what she was thinking. He waggled his eyebrows at her and pulled his scarf down for another swig of beer. "This is so inappropriate," she said with a laugh that contradicted her words.

"No it's not," he insisted. "Sure, you were my student and I was your teacher once, but that was a long time ago. We're coworkers now, you know? We're equals."

"Hardly. I'm a teacher, yes, but I'm still your _student_ teacher," she argued.

"Nuance," he stated simply.

"You're not gonna leave me alone about this, are you?" He stared at her for a moment, then winked to show her that no, he wasn't gonna let this one go. She sighed and tossed back a sip of beer - her fourth. "If you must know, I haven't been in a relationship in over a year."

He watched her as she said it, taking in the dissatisfied look on her face, as if that was something to be ashamed of. As if that was even all that bad of a thing. "You think that's bad?" he asked. "I haven't been in a relationship in almost ten."

"Yeah, well, I remember hearing more than a few stories about your one night stands and scandalous rendezvous with the other staff when I was in school," she pointed out.

"All lies."

"Bull_shit_."

"Okay, you caught me." He shrugged. "So I like a nice little horizontal tango here and there. What can I say? I'm a good dancer."

She let out a loud bark of a laugh. Did he have to put it in such strange words? "You mean you like sex?"

"Lots and lots of it."

Still laughing, she said, "You're disgusting."

He ignored her insult and continued, "Besides, maybe you haven't been in a committed relationship for a year, but don't pretend like you don't pick up a hot guy every now and again just for fun."

She tossed him a sideways glance and rolled her eyes. "Actually, no, I don't."

"_Liar_," he accused.

"You know, I would, it's just that the guys don't seem to take to me," she admitted, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Damn, she was relentless. Would he ever get through her tough exterior? He wondered what had changed her from the fun-loving but studious girl he'd known ten years ago to the sarcastic, almost bitter woman she was now. Or rather _who_ had changed her. After all, he'd been through enough rough romantic experiences to know that it was almost always a bad break-up that caused a drastic change in a person's attitude. In fact, he was barely getting over one such break-up himself. And despite her attitude, she was helping. Whether she knew it or not, she was still such fun, even when she was trying so hard not to be.

"Come on," he said, "a pretty young thing like you?"

"You're making me sick to my stomach," she groaned, pretending to gag on her next sip.

"Yeah, or you're drunk already." She shrugged and he leaned back in his seat, thoroughly surprised. He was beginning to realize that this wasn't an act she was pulling. "Really, no sex? A whole year?"

"Some people don't need it to function." She caught him raising an eyebrow at her and added, "Hard to believe, I know."

"Huh." He leaned forward again and downed the rest of his drink, noticing that Sakura was running low herself. "Well, we might just have to do something about that."

"What?" she asked.

"Nevermind. Another beer?"

* * *

><p>Kakashi was having a hard time helping Sakura up the stairs to his apartment. It didn't help that every time she stumbled even the slightest bit, she started to giggle and smack him on the shoulder, asking him if he saw it and telling him he needed to do a better job of keeping her on her feet. Perhaps letting her get so drunk was not such a good idea...<p>

She tripped again and this time burst into full out laughter, doubling over and holding her stomach. "That was bad!" she shouted. "That was so bad!"

"You're smashed." It came out more slurred than he intended, but at least he was still sober enough to know what he was doing. "And this is taking way too long." Without warning, he scooped her up and draped her over his shoulder. She gasped and her hands flew to her behind.

"'Kashi!" she squealed. "My panties!"

"What about them?"

"People can see them!" she whispered dramatically into his ear.

"What people?"

To the best of her abilities, Sakura craned her neck to look all around them. Sure enough, they were alone on the outdoor staircase, and the only people who would see her backside now were the ones she was sure to wake up if she kept shouting. She giggled. "Well, my butt is cold!"

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you wore that miniskirt," he suggested. "Quit complaining, and quit moving around, or I'll drop you."

Just to be difficult, she thrashed in his hold again, demanding that she be put down immediately. After a solid two minutes of wiggling, he finally set her down and said, "I'm only letting go of you if you can honestly tell me that you'll be able to get up these stairs without my help."

"Can't make any promises," she snickered. Before he could sweep her back up, she tried to make a run for it, but unfortunately, her foot caught on the next step and she began to fall forward. Kakashi leaned forward and tried to catch her before she hit the ground, but he only tripped over the same step and the two of them toppled over on top of each other.

But this was nothing to Sakura, not in her drunken state. She didn't even wince. She only burst into hysterical laughter once again. Sighing, Kakashi lifted himself off the ground and picked her up again, carrying her bridal style until they finally reached the unlocked door to his apartment. He brought them inside and closed the door behind him, setting her down on her feet as her laughter began to fade at last.

And then they really were alone. Kakashi flicked on the lights to his small living room and immediately walked over to a linen closet.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Making sure you don't smell like beer and smoke tomorrow," he said as he pulled out the cleanest looking towel. "We work with children, remember?"

He threw the towel at her and she fumbled with it for a moment before it fell through her hands and she had to bend down to pick it up. "_Young adults_, 'Kashi," she corrected playfully. "And are you going to help me bathe, as well?"

He made a contemplative face, as if he might actually be considering it, then shook his head. "Tempting, but I think you're sober enough for that at least. Only if we're judging based on your coherency." He opened the door to his bathroom and gestured toward open doorway.

"I hate you," she grumbled.

"You so want me," he called after her when she closed the door, a playful tone creeping into his voice. He waited until he could hear the shower water running before he opened the door to his bedroom and stepped inside, picking up a few stray pieces of trash on his way in then sitting down on the edge of his bed. It was messier than usual - a result of having no time to tidy up because of his busy midterms schedule. The kids were demanding. They all wanted one on one study time with their favorite history teacher, and as an educator, who was he to deny them? Most days, he stayed at the school until eight in the evening.

Now that midterms were over, though, he had plenty of free time. Free time to clean up his house, entertain guests, and invite lovely young student teachers into his home to seduce them. He smirked. He really was a bad person, but he was okay with that.

The thing was, he felt more than just a sexual attraction to her. There was something special about her that made her different from any of his other one night stands, aside from the fact that they'd actually known each other for almost ten years. But the bigger thing was that if he did sleep with her tonight, he knew he wouldn't mind sleeping with her again. And that was something he'd never been able to say about any of the other women he'd slept with. At least not in the past several years. Even that one blonde teacher with the fantastic ass, he never wanted to even touch again. Partly because she was a whiny drunk but mostly because that just wasn't how he rolled. Usually.

This time around, though, there was something other than lust lurking beneath the surface. Oh, Kakashi wanted Sakura. Wanted her bad. Wanted her since the day she turned eighteen her senior year, and maybe even a little bit before that, but that's not something he liked to brag about. But there was more to it than that. Because he knew if he had sex with her tonight and never spoke to her again like he did with most of the women he slept with, he would never be able to forgive himself.

But then, there was no possibility of that, since they would be spending every day of the rest of the school year together.

Which made this situation even more delicate. If he hurt her tonight, what would their working relationship be like? He'd never encountered a dilemma like this. Sure, he'd slept with a lot of his female coworkers, and maybe a couple of the male ones (but only when he got really, really drunk), but all those times before, they never had to speak to each other again if they didn't want to. It didn't matter that they worked at the same school, they didn't work in the same classroom, and when you were a teacher, your classroom was the only place you really hung out in during working hours.

That would pose a problem if Sakura decided to hate him for what he might do to her tonight.

The door creaked open. Kakashi looked up and immediately, all of his worries blew away. She was standing there, still a little bit wet though she seemed to have mostly dried off, wrapped in nothing but the small towel he'd given her. And suddenly there was nothing on his mind but her - her eyes, her lips, her skin, her body on his.

His stare did not go unnoticed. She had the decency to blush, but otherwise didn't seem too fazed. "I used your washer. My clothes stink," she said. "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all."

There was a short silence, then Sakura prompted, "Which means I have no clean clothes to wear..."

He understood. "Sorry," he said. "I haven't got anything clean either." He nodded to his overflowing laundry basket, and her blush grew brighter. "I guess you'll just have to do with the towel for now."

"Right," she muttered, averting her eyes. "Great."

"I know, barely covered up with the pervy old history teacher, right?" he joked. "It kinda sucks, doesn't it?"

But that was why she was blushing. Because as much as she should have been embarrassed by the fact that she was practically naked in front of an old teacher of hers, she was more embarrassed by the fact that she _wanted_ to be. Whether that want to be bare before him came from her tipsy state or the many fantasies she'd had of him when she was a kid, she wasn't quite sure. But there was a small thrill in being unclothed with him so close, and dare she say it, she wanted more.

She shuffled over to where he was seated on his bed and sat down beside him, putting a safe, but small amount of distance between them. She looked up at him and hey, he was still staring, wasn't he? In fact, he was staring a lot harder now, and it looked like he might have scooted closer because there was less distance between them. Sakura was very aware of the fact that their legs were touching and that was probably a bad thing because she was still trying to shake the memories of those intimate fantasies she'd had when she was younger from her mind.

But suddenly, Kakashi was making it very difficult to forget about it, because he was kissing her. Kissing her like she used to imagine he would, with no less vigor than in her dreams. His hand was in her hair and his arm wrapped around her neck. It was not one kiss, but many, hot and quick, as if trying to compete with the hundred kisses they'd shared in her wildest fantasies.

And she didn't pull away.

And it wasn't because she was drunk, she tried to tell herself, but that was most likely a lie. She didn't like Kakashi, not anymore; he wasn't her type, she thought, but that was a lie too. Sure, Kakashi wasn't even a little perfect - he was condescending and snarky and sometimes rude. But he was well built and had a strong jaw and Sakura had always had a bit of thing for teachers. That was part of the reason she decided to become one herself.

And Sakura wanted him. Wanted him as badly as she'd denied wanting him in the past. So she kissed him back, and it was all tongue and lips with just a hint of teeth. Kakashi was kissing her maybe even _too_ hard but it felt so, so good to be wanted like this, to have someone holding her so tightly.

Their bodies were pressed together and Sakura could feel how hard Kakashi was and she was just as turned on; her whole body was hot and she couldn't stop herself from pushing her hips into Kakashi's. Kakashi stopped kissing her lips and, cupping her face gingerly, moved on to her jaw, her neck, her collarbone, as if he was trying to taste her entire body. Sakura couldn't help but moan as Kakashi started devouring her neck, frantic and fiery. Kakashi took this as an invitation to slip his hand through the towel and Sakura didn't even bother to think that this might cause it to fall away soon as she felt Kakashi's fingers caress the skin beneath.

She'd never even thought of touching her own nipples before, so when Kakashi started circling them with his fingers, she could feel her breath coming harder and faster. Then Kakashi tweaked one sharply and Sakura felt her whole body convulse with pleasure, accompanied by a noise she didn't even know she could make.

"So beautiful when you moan like that," Kakashi murmured in her ear, massaging her nipples again and making her go crazy, shuddering and letting out that noise again.

"Stop... no," she whined and for a second, Kakash panicked that she was going to cry rape, and as morally wrong as this already was what with her being a bit drunk and all, he didn't want to do anything that was actually _illegal_, and even more, he didn't want to hurt her. That was his number one concern. So he paused. "Going to... _Ah_, I'm going to-"

Then Kakashi suddenly realized what Sakura meant, so he kissed her more deeply than before and while still using a hand to rub her nipple, he swiftly brought the other one down to grope her hot core beneath the towel. He tried not to think about the fact that Sakura was a former student of his, but he _knew_ and it was making him even hotter. With a choke of desperation, he bit down on Sakura's lip and thrust his fingers into her.

The effect was instantaneous and so arousing, Kakashi had to stop himself from following. Sakura's eyes fluttered as her whole body convulsed, her lips parting to let out a soft groan, and Kakashi could feel her pulsing in his hand. Then, after one more shudder, Sakura pulled away from him, eyes suddenly wide with horror.

"I... oh my God." But Kakashi cut her off with another messy kiss and did away with the towel once and for all, throwing it onto the ground already littered with dirty laundry. He put his hand back on her folds and started stroking her, coaxing her back into arousal. Slowly, he pushed her down onto the bed, keeping his hand on her. She groaned beneath him and Kakashi stole a look at her eyes, glazed with either alcohol or lust, he couldn't tell.

And _fuck_, this was so utterly wrong, he thought, as he unzipped the fly of his jeans and started to jerk himself. But she wasn't trying to get away from him, she actually seemed to enjoy it. And so he went with it.

She whined as his hands left her body, but she was soon placated by the heat of his lips between her breasts, on her stomach, her navel, until finally, she felt him kiss the inside of each of her thighs and she moaned again in earnest. Almost experimentally, though she was pretty sure he'd done this about a hundred times before with a hundred different women, he spread her legs further apart and licked her once, and she whimpered.

Then his whole mouth was on her and she did her best not to bring her legs together, to be polite and not squeeze his head between her thighs, but it was hard because _fucking Kakashi Hatake was going down on her_. She'd have to be waterboarded before she'd admit to it, but she'd thought about the reverse before. There was just something about teachers and classrooms... She'd thought about going in during his free period, getting on her knees and sucking him off. But she'd never thought about _this_. About Kakashi being gentle and tentative, obviously trying to please her, obviously trying to make her feel good.

And she did feel good. She never wanted it to stop, but unfortunately, what Kakashi lacked in tact he made up for in skill, and especially if he kept doing that circling thing with his tongue, Sakura wasn't going to last much longer. And she didn't want to tire herself out yet. There was still something more that she wanted. She found herself begrudgingly pushing his head away with a soft groan, panting a barely coherent, "Condom?"

He snickered and pulled one out of the front pocket of his jeans - always prepared. He tore open the foil packaging with his teeth, mumbling, "You sure you want to?" He let the question hang there, taking the time to kiss a pathway from between her legs back to her lips. She was still a little bit drunk, but hey, permission was permission, wasn't it? He'd done worse with drunker women.

"Yes," she said, because she was damn sure she'd take anything Kakashi offered right now. And boy, wasn't that a complete one-eighty from earlier that day, when she was trying so hard to convince herself she didn't want him at all?

Kakashi made a pleased little noise and stood up off the bed to remove his pants. He discarded his shirt and scarf as well, throwing both articles of clothing where he tossed the towel. He looked down and Sakura was spread out on the bed, naked except for a small necklace around her neck that he recognized - she used to wear the same one when she was a junior. For some reason, this realization made his cock twitch. Unable to wait much longer, he rolled the condom on and kneeled over her again.

Sakura had to take a moment, now that she was face to face with Kakashi's naked body. She'd always pictured him more slender, with less muscle, but she'd been wrong. He was actually quite chiseled, and he was pale, but it looked good on him. He was broad and hard all over - really, _all over_ - with sparse, silver chest hair, and Sakura's mouth went a little dry.

But her mind went completely blank when she felt his lips kissing every inch of her skin, tasting her as he went. When he reached her mouth, he captured her lips briefly before pulling away to hook a hand under one of Sakura's knees and lift her leg around his hip. He was stroking himself with his other hand, and as he got closer, his knuckles brushed against Sakura's inner thigh.

He didn't even warn her before suddenly slamming into her, causing her to cry out and throw her arms around his shoulders, scratching at his back, needing _something_ to hold on to. Then he sort of froze, breathing heavily and getting a look of intense concentration on his face - he was going to have to be able to control himself if he wanted this to last more than just a couple minutes. "Sorry," he panted. "Did that hurt?"

"Just a little," she said. "But it felt good too."

Kakashi bit his lip, groaning quietly and whispering something along the lines of "so hot" that Sakura didn't really quite hear. After a short moment of stillness, Kakashi pulled back, then started sliding forward again, much slower this time. Sakura arched up against him and Kakashi took her other leg and wrapped it around his waist with the other one. The change in position did wonders and Sakura moaned a little.

After a few more slow thrusts, Kakashi picked up the pace quite a bit. The pain was entirely gone now and Sakura could just _feel_. There was something so primal, so _vital_ about the rhythm of sex. It was something that couldn't be achieved with one's own hand or toys, this push-pull of bodies.

Kakashi moved his hands from her waist to her hips, pulling her in with each of his forward thrusts. Sakura thrashed on the pillow and she could hear herself talking but she didn't think she was saying anything that resembled real sentences. She was mostly saying "yes" a lot. Kakashi was doing it to. But it sounded like he was saying "fuck" a lot more, and oddly enough, that turned her on even more.

Suddenly, one of Kakashi's hands was gone from her hip and she wondered where he was moving it to, when she felt it on her femininity, rubbing in glorious circles around that tiny little bundle of nerves while his thrusts grew more insistent. And with that, she knew it would be over soon. Kakashi said something absolutely ridiculous like "get off for me, baby," which Sakura should probably have regarded as a cheesy line, but she obviously wasn't thinking clearly because her back arched at the sound of his voice and her insides began to flutter with her orgasm. Like Kakashi's words had been a command.

She was still panting through her orgasm when he came, thrusting hard against her and squeezing her hip almost painfully. When he was finished, he pulled out, trying to be gentle about it though it still made Sakura wince a little. She didn't think he'd notice.

From somewhere outside his bedroom, she heard the buzzer of the washer go off, but couldn't be bothered to get up and transfer her clothes to the dryer. Like the gentleman she hadn't expected him to be, Kakashi mumbled, "I've got it." She watched him slide off the bed and pull a pair of dirty sweats on then exit the room.

She knew she would feel guilty about this the next morning. And that she would probably be sore beyond belief, and explaining to the kids why she was walking with a bit of a waddle wasn't going to be fun. But while she settled herself beneath his covers and started to drift off to sleep, she reflected on the past hour with him, and the years that she'd _dreamt_ about that past hour, and she had to admit that it was worth it.

At least while she was drunk.

* * *

><p>The morning came much too soon. Sunlight filtered in through the small gaps in the curtains and hit Sakura in the face, gradually coaxing her out of her deep slumber until her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at an olive green painted ceiling that was not her own.<p>

For a moment, she was very confused. What strange room was she in, and how did she get here? Certainly someone didn't sneak into her room while she was fast asleep and paint her ceiling that hideous shade of green? Her hands balled into fists and rubbed at her bleary eyes to clear them, and when she reopened them she found that indeed, the ceiling above her was not hers. She was not in her own room.

She shifted in bed, meaning to sit up, but she froze when she bumped something else with her leg. Skin on skin. She turned her head to see who it was and when she laid her eyes on Kakashi's sleeping form, the steady rise and fall of his chest, everything from the previous night came flooding back.

The bar. The talking about their love lives. The drunkenness and need for his body on hers, that insatiable desire for him to be inside of her that had only been multiplied by a factor of a thousand when he finally _was_ inside of her. Images from last night flashed quickly through her mind and when she came back into her own, she was half aroused and half humiliated. She put her head in her hands and groaned loudly. How could she be so stupid?

She had to get out of here. Save herself the embarrassment of facing him when he woke up. There was a nagging voice in the back of her mind telling her she should be a good person and roust him before he slept in and missed an hour of work, but he'd never been known for being punctual anyway, and whatever class he missed, she could teach for him.

She hopped out of the bed and covered herself as best as she could - and yes, she was mortified to find that she had slept in the same bed as him completely nude - as she ran to the laundry room and pulled her wrinkled clothes from the dryer. If she ran, she would barely have enough time to get to her house for a change of clothes.

Good thing she felt like running away from him.

Meanwhile, while she scampered around the house, she remained completely unaware of Kakashi's slightly opened eye watching her through the open doorway of his bedroom.

* * *

><p>"...and the attack on Pearl Harbor marked the beginning of World War II," Sakura finished, writing the date of the attack on the whiteboard for the students to copy down.<p>

There came a clapping from the doorway. Sakura turned to see who had disrupted her class and promptly flushed red when she met Kakashi's mismatched eyes. "Excellent lesson, Ms. Haruno," he praised.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked, and her bright red face caused the entire class to chuckle.

"Long enough to know you're going to make an excellent teacher," he answered as he walked past her to sit at his desk.

She stepped back, carefully avoiding being brushed by him as he passed. Anxiously, she checked the clock and noted that there were still twenty minutes of class left. Fortunately, she had prepared for free time by printing off a couple worksheets. _Un_fortunately, she had stored them in the very bottom drawer of Kakashi's desk.

She gave herself a shake and straightened up, then walked in a very dignified manner over to the desk. Kakashi looked up at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something to him, but she remained silent as she got down on her knees IN a rather _un_dignified manner and opened the drawer by his feet. She was almost face to face with his crotch, and this made her face even redder, but she chose to ignore the heat on her cheeks along with the snickers of the students as they noticed.

She grabbed the stack of worksheets and slammed the drawer shut loudly before quickly standing back up. As she passed them out, she explained, "This worksheet should be easy after that lesson. If you finish it before the bell, you can turn it in on the desk, and if you don't, it will be homework." She finished distributing the papers, then looked over the class as a whole. "Now get to work. I need to have a word with your teacher about being more _punctual_."

Kakashi let out a short, loud laugh, but followed Sakura obediently through the classroom door. She closed it behind her and faced him with her hands on her hips, determined not to be misunderstood or misinterpreted. She would tell him exactly how she felt about what had happened last night and what they were going to do about it, and she would be firm in her belief that this was the best thing for them if they wanted to have a decent working relationship for the rest of the school year.

"Mr. Hatake," she began sternly.

"Mr. Hatake?" he asked. "Last night you were calling me 'Kashi, now it's Mr. Hatake?"

Sakura ignored him. "Mr. Hatake, we should pretend it never happened."

"What never happened? You sleeping with me last night or you flitting away from me this morning?" he teased mercilessly. "Because both are fond memories I'd like to hang on to."

"No!" She snapped, her face turning bright red for the millionth time that morning. "No, there will be no more memories! I'm not the girl in the bar anymore and you're not the guy."

As she spoke, Kakashi seemed to be distracted by something, his eyes not focused on her but on something behind her. She tried to dismiss it, but before she could continue speaking, he cleared his throat and pointed discreetly to the window in the classroom door. She whirled around and through the small window, she could see all the kids gathered there at the door, peering out at them, laughing and making obscene gestures. She swung the door open and muttered something he couldn't quite hear in an ominous tone. Kakashi chuckled as their eyes all went wide and they scampered back to their seats and continued to work quietly.

"Do you see what I mean?" she asked. "We're professionals. This can't exist. You get that, right?"

"You took advantage of me and now you want to forget it?" he said, pretending to be hurt.

"I did not take-"

"I was drunk, vulnerable, and good looking and you took advantage."

Her brow furrowed and she glared at him, throwing up her hands in frustration. "Okay, _I_ was the one who was drunk and- and-" She stammered as the rest of what he had said sunk in. "And you are not that good looking!"

"Maybe not today, but last night I was very good looking," he explained. "I had on my nice shirt, my good looking shirt, and you took advantage."

"I did not!"

"Would you like to take advantage again, say, Friday night?"

"No!" she screeched, smacking his shoulder. "You're my teacher and I'm your student!" He wasn't listening to her. She could tell by the way he was slowly running his eyes over the length of her body with that stupid, lazy grin of his. Her cheeks flared. "And stop looking at me like that!"

"Like what?" he asked obliviously.

"Like you've seen me naked."

Kakashi laughed out loud and opened the door to let them both back into the classroom. By some miracle, the students were still acting like little angels, working quietly, though some of them cast a nervous glance in Sakura's direction.

He hadn't been teasing her. She really was a fantastic teacher.

* * *

><p>"So did you really sleep with him?"<p>

Sakura looked up from her lunch at the blonde across from her. Sakura had known Ino Yamanaka since her elementary school days, and they hadn't always been the best of friends... In fact, all throughout elementary and middle school, they were, for lack of a better word, rivals. If she recalled correctly, Ino had been the reason Sasuke had broken up with Sakura her junior year. But then, it turned out he was just a heartbreaker and he dumped Ino, too. By the end of their senior year, they had created a dysfunctional sort of heartbroken friendship.

Of course, when they graduated, they didn't expect to ever see each other again. Ino's parents were florists and wanted her to continue the family business and Sakura wanted to be a doctor. Unfortunately, it seemed that selling flowers didn't put much money in her pockets and medical school was expensive as hell.

Neither of them had told the other, but a career in education had been their fallback plan.

Sakura remembered seeing Ino in the break room for the first time since she started working at the school. It had been her first day of work - the same day she'd foolishly gone home with Kakashi on a drunken whim. She hadn't brought her own lunch with her, but Ino was nice enough to share hers with an "old friend".

It had been a month since that day, and while she obviously still enjoyed gossiping, the rumor mill didn't reach Ino as quickly as it had when she was a student. Sakura took a bite out of her apple and glanced up from her book at Ino. "Where'd you hear that?"

"I heard some boys whispering about it during my lesson." She smiled a very catlike grin and continued, "I promised them I'd send them to Tsunade if they told me what they were talking about."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Kids these days."

"I know, they only like being smacked around by her because she has... well, you know." Ino held her hands out in front of her chest and puffed her torso out. Sakura stifled a laugh. "But anyway, they said that you and Kakashi have been standing awfully close lately. And you blush a lot, but only when he looks at you."

Immediately following their drunken escapade, Sakura had tried to keep as much distance between them as possible, and it was for this exact reason. She hadn't wanted any of the students talking about them, like they had any right to draw conclusions. But as the days wore on, she found it harder and harder to stay away from him. Regardless of what had happened between them and how much it mortified her to think about, there was still something about his presence that was in the smallest way... soothing. Despite their strange encounter that night, he still talked easily with her, even when she was trying to avoid him. Even though he _knew_ she was trying to avoid him. Almost like he was trying to convince her that nothing had changed, that just because they'd slept with each other and shared a bed didn't mean they couldn't still be friends.

By the end of the month, she'd found herself enjoying his company as often as she could. And she noticed that his eyes no longer roamed her whole body when she spoke, but rather stayed focused solely on her eyes. As if nothing anybody could say could ever be more important than what she was talking about, even if she was only discussing the weather. It made her feel special.

But Ino didn't have to know any of that.

"And that means I slept with him?" Sakura asked.

"Only to the well trained eye." Ino smirked. "I put the pieces together myself. So, did you sleep with him?"

Sakura stared her down, willing her to drop the subject, but this was _Ino_. Older and more mature as she may or may not have been, she still loved her gossip. Sakura would never see the outside of the break room if she didn't talk. "I guess," she said with a shrug. "I mean, I don't remember much of it, only that... Well, it was good, you know?"

"Gross."

"Right?"

Ino chuckled and leaned back in her chair, her eyes twinkling mischievously. It was the same look she used to get on her face during high school right before she would dive into her spiels about what she heard the two most popular kids in school doing in the girl's bathroom. She barely lowered her voice when she said, "But did he tell you about how he hasn't had a steady lay in, like, forever?"

"Yes, he told me he hasn't been in a committed relationship for ten years," she said, subtly trying to defend him.

"There's a reason for that," Ino stated.

Sakura dropped all defenses for the sake of a joke and muttered, "Yeah, he's a pervert."

Ino laughed loudly. "Aside from that, I mean!"

"Oh, even more negative qualities?" Sakura smiled, took another bite of her apple, then sucked some of the juice from her index finger. Then she looked up from her apple, and all of a sudden, there he was, watching her. Still looking straight into her eyes, but with such a strange, lustful look. Sakura felt a sudden pulse of heat between her legs as some memories from a month ago flooded her mind. She discreetly squeezed her legs together, trying to ignore it.

How long had he been standing there? Why was he staring at her like that? She pulled her finger from her mouth and arched an eyebrow at him. The heated look faded from his eyes and his eyes creased as he smiled behind his scarf then walked away.

"You could say that," Ino said, not noticing the silent exchange that just occurred. "But it's not really his fault."

"Well, spit it out already."

"Alright, but you didn't hear it from me," she warned. She leaned in close to Sakura - her typical long-gossipy-story pose - and started to tell, "He's been working here for awhile, almost twenty years. So when he was in his last relationship, anyone who was working here at the time witnessed it. And they all say he was happy - like, skipping and whistling bizarre tunes kind of happy."

"We're talking about _Kakashi_, right?"

Ino nodded vigorously, her blindingly white grin widening as she delved deeper into a past that didn't belong to her. "The thing is, when she broke up with him, he totally lost it," she continued, speaking with more fervor as the story picked up. "It was like a part of him died, he was totally monotone and miserable for _months_." She let out a high pitched giggle and Sakura tossed around the idea that there might be something mentally wrong with Ino if she was finding so much enjoyment from another person's pain. "Nobody knew what to do about it. You have to remember - you were his student then, weren't you?"

She tilted her head, remembering as much as she could about him (aside from his strong jaw and fantastic backside) from her junior year of high school. Perhaps she had noticed something sad about him. Maybe all those times she'd caught him looking down a girl's shirt, he'd only been looking down at the floor. Maybe his cool, aloof behavior was a result of a broken heart. But that just didn't seem like him, to take a break-up so personally.

At any rate, she'd been suffering from a broken heart around the same time, and she felt guilty for not having picked up on the symptoms.

"Maybe I should have noticed," Sakura sighed. "But if you're saying _any_ of the kids noticed, it had to have been bad. They don't usually pick up on anything, even when we're trying to teach it to them."

"That's what I'm saying!" Ino exclaimed. "In that case, it had to have been really bad. So everyone figured he was super emotionally scarred. He was still acting like the fucking living dead when I started working here two years ago. And you know what's really strange?" She opened her mouth and took in a big breath of air, preparing for the climax of the story, but then her eyes lost that glint and she deflated. "Maybe I shouldn't say."

"What?" Sakura asked, but Ino was pressing her lips together now. "Oh, come on! You already got this far. Tell me."

"Well... He's pretty happy now, wouldn't you say?" Sakura nodded, leaning in eagerly - when did she become such a gossip? "The thing is," Ino continued slowly, her tone less mischievous and more serious, "he wasn't like that until _you_ got here."

Sakura opening her mouth to ask what exactly that meant, but the bell rang before she could get a word out, and Ino promptly disappeared. Sakura huffed and got up from the table to leave, throwing her garbage out in the bin by the door as she exited and started walking to the classroom.

Wasn't happy until Sakura arrived? Well, that could mean a few things. It could mean she had a talent for making other people happy, which definitely was not the case since she usually had a foul attitude, so she scratched that possibility off the list. It might mean that he was just happy to see a former student of his, but she doubted that too, since they'd rarely spoken when she was younger and aside from her hair color, she didn't consider herself to be a particularly memorable student. So maybe it meant that...

But no. It was too much to think that the feelings Sakura had harbored for Kakashi all those years ago, and was maybe starting to harbor again, were becoming mutual. After all, she'd already warned him that they were professionals and stuff like that wouldn't be in their best interests.

But then, she knew if she had the chance to repeat that night with him after the bar but sober, she wouldn't turn it down.

She was a terrible person and a terrible teacher. If she had any sense at all, she would tell Kakashi to quit being a fool and find someone else to be attracted to, but... Maybe she was okay with being senseless. At least for the time being.

She reached the classroom a few minutes after the tardy bell rang and stepped in, mouthing "sorry" when Kakashi glanced at her. He didn't hesitate at all. He kept on with his lesson, gesticulating with his hands and adding in relevant jokes here and there, sending some of the students into hysterical laughter. Sakura watched, bemused, from the chair behind his desk. Had he always spoken with such passion when he was teaching? Had there always been that sparkle in his eye when he talked about history, like it was the most fascinating thing he'd ever spoken of in his life? Watching him, Sakura remembered one of the things she admired about teachers.

More often than not, they _loved_ what they taught. And that was attractive to her, seeing someone excel in their profession not solely because they were good at it, but because they truly enjoyed what they did for a living. And maybe Ino was right. Maybe she had sparked a change of heart in him.

She smiled at him when he finished the lesson and came over. He didn't hesitate before leaning over her to grab the stack of worksheets on the other end of the desk. He gave her a pat on the shoulder before he walked away again and started explaining the assignment to the class as he passed the papers out. Some sort of timeline. Sakura didn't care much since she didn't have to grade it.

With less than ten minutes left in the final period of the day, he sauntered over to her, bringing a stool with him. They sat together and chatted for the remainder of the class, occasionally pausing to help a student with their work. None of the kids gawked at them, which was a change of pace from a few weeks ago, when the entire class would snicker every time they made eye contact.

Finally, the bell rang, and Kakashi shouted a reminder to have the timelines finished by tomorrow. When the whole class was out the door, he pulled open the top drawer of his desk and withdrew a stack of completed assignments and red a pen. Sakura watched him grade in silence for a moment, then asked, "Where were you at lunch today? I didn't see you in the break room."

He looked up at her, grinned, then looked back down. "You saw me outside of the break room."

"Five minutes before lunch ended," she said.

"I had a meeting with Tsunade," he explained. "She found out we haven't been strictly following one of her ridiculous rules and one of the students admitted to her that _I_ made them copy lines for acting out in class."

Sakura chuckled. "But that was me."

"I know. And I took the fall for you," Kakashi said, smiling. "I didn't want her to use the Punisher on you. Besides, I kinda like it."

"You disgust me."

"No, I don't," Kakashi laughed as he scribbled a B on the top of one of the papers and moved on to the next one. "Anyway, I was going to say that if the kids are blaming me for something you did, they must really like you."

"You think so?" she asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear shyly.

"Definitely." He set down his pen, folded his hands, and looked straight into her eyes like he'd been doing so often recently. "It's understandable. Like I said, you're an excellent teacher."

She blushed, but did not avert her eyes. His gaze still bore into hers, and he had that ever present smirk on his face, like he was reading her mind. Her conversation with Ino from earlier came to mind and before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "Will you tell me about her?"

His smile faded and he picked up the pen, scribbling once again. "About who?"

Sakura wanted to smack herself for not being able to control her words. What was she supposed to say now? "_Nevermind, don't worry about it?_" Then he would know that she knew about his past relationship, and things would surely get weird between them if it went unsaid. Embarrassed, she said, "The girl that made you avoid relationships for ten years."

"Ten years and counting," Kakashi added, trying to lighten to mood up. "I don't know, Sakura."

Now her curiosity was peaked. She genuinely wanted to know. She wanted to know as much as she could about the man before her, starting with his broken love life and maybe ending with where he got that scar over his red eye. "Come on," she pleaded with a delicate smile. "Let me know and I'll beat her up for you."

He glanced up from his grading again and saw her smile. Something flashed in his eyes for a split second - fondness? But then it faded into general mirth and he chuckled. "Alright." He put the pen down and pulled his scarf down to scratch his chin in thought for a moment. Then he started, "Well, she was beautiful, for one. Pale, perfect skin. Dark brown hair all the way down to her waist and the brightest blue eyes I've ever seen. Absolutely stunning."

"I bet she was," Sakura piped up encouragingly.

"And she was funny. Downright hilarious. I loved that about her," Kakashi added, smiling as he remembered. After a short silence, his smile started to vanish and he continued, "But she was very sensitive... And pushy."

"Most girls are," Sakura said in an awkward attempt to comfort him.

"Yeah, but it was in an extreme way," he explained. "It was like I couldn't even tell her I loved her without her picking apart the way I said it. I couldn't do anything right."

"So she ended it?"

"Yeah." He sighed, looking downward. "I actually saw her about a year ago at the supermarket, comparing jars of peanut butter. It had been a long time. And all I could think about was how she'd curled her hair like that for me once, and she'd worn sandals like that for me once, too."

"Did you say hi?" Sakura asked, intrigued.

"No." Kakashi shook his head. "I disappeared before I could see who she was living for now."

He looked sad remembering it, and yet she couldn't stop herself from asking, "Do you still think about her? Aside from right now, I mean."

"I used to. You'd think I would, right?" He looked up at her face and a genuine smile quirked his lips. "But no. These days I find that there are more important things to think about. Sometimes I do wonder if I ever actually loved her or if I just deluded myself into thinking so to give myself a reason to endure her constant arguing." He stared into her eyes again and she didn't notice herself shifting toward him. "Besides, I always fancied green eyes over blue anyway."

_I have green eyes_, Sakura thought naively and bit her lip. And then Kakashi closed the small distance between them, pressing his lips against hers while lightly cupping her face in his hands. It was nothing like their first kiss, which was sloppy and rushed and full of teeth. This one was slower and softer, like they had all the time in the world, like a coworker or a student couldn't burst through the classroom door at any moment. He ran his tongue along her lower lip, asking permission to enter, and she granted it by parting her lips slightly and grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him closer.

His tongue traced her teeth and met hers. One of his hands travelled down to her waist and he pulled her out of the chair and towards him. He scooted to the very edge of the stool he was seated on and brought their chests together. Sakura made a soft whining sound at the back of her throat when his hand travelled even lower and she knew that if someone didn't stop this soon, it would get out of hand. Quickly.

And when she'd realized that, she had meant one of them, not one of the students clearing their throat and saying quietly but pointedly, "Mr. Hatake?"

Sakura gasped and tore herself away from him, throwing herself back into the desk chair and turning away in shame. She heard Kakashi laugh lightly at her - that bastard! - and hid her burning face in her hands while Kakashi dealt with the student.

She could hardly hear what they were saying, but it sounded like the girl was having trouble with the timeline. They murmured about how to do the assignment for awhile, then Sakura heard the girl ask, "Are you and Ms. Haruno dating?" Her face burned hotter.

"Dating?" Kakashi asked with a chuckle. "That's up to her, isn't it?" Sakura heard the student's awkward laugh. "Go finish your homework now. If the rest of the kids have the same issue, I'll extend the due date another day."

"Thank you, Mr. Hatake!" She sounded nervous as she scampered away and Sakura waited until she was sure there was nobody else but Kakashi in the room before turning back around in the chair.

"That was miserable."

"I thought it was cute," Kakashi mused.

"The whole school will know about this by midnight. _Ino_ will know about it," Sakura fretted.

"Like they haven't already drawn their own conclusions about us." Sakura didn't look any less humiliated. Kakashi reached out and stroked her hair, and she didn't pull away. "Why are you freaking out about this?"

"I came here to be a good teacher," Sakura sighed. "Not the staff slut!"

"You're not a slut," Kakashi laughed. "You haven't slept with anyone else, as far as I know. And it hardly counts that you slept with me. I kind of took advantage of you." Sakura looked up at him and arched an eyebrow. So now he admitted it? He smiled at her and stood up off the stool, offering a hand to help her up. "Let's talk about something else. I have something to ask you."

"I'm scared."

"Don't be." He took her hand and pulled her upright, guiding her towards the door of the classroom with his hand now on the small of her back. "Every year since she's been here, Ino has thrown this really stupid Valentine's Day party for the staff, and it's coming up this weekend. Really, it's the most painfully boring thing, but going and enduring it is much better than having her cut your head off for not attending."

"I don't like where this is headed," Sakura groaned.

"Anyway, it's sort of customary to bring a date."

Sakura stopped in her tracks and Kakashi continued forward a few steps before turning around to face her.

"Not like a _date_ date," he explained quickly. "Most of the staff is married anyway, so they bring their husband or wife. But for those of us who are single, we're supposed to bring _somebody_. We usually just bring each other, but the past two years, I've gone alone." He flashed her a dashing, crooked smile. "Would you like to change that?"

"That sounds like a bad idea."

"There will be alcohol."

"Okay, now it sounds like a _really_ bad idea," Sakura said, but there was mirth in her tone.

"Come on," Kakashi said soothingly. He took her right hand in his left and used his other hand to put her left on his shoulder. He dropped his free hand dangerously low on her waist and pulled her into him. "Think about it. You and me, dancing the night away, maybe having a few drinks." Sakura tried to pull away from him, but he held her tighter and suddenly dipped her down low. She tried not to squeal or think about that fact that they were slow dancing in the middle of the school hallway. He lifted her back up and said, "People will be jealous of our awesome moves."

He twirled her and she used the opportunity to escape his grasp. "You're a terrible dancer," she said. But she could still feel the warmth of his hand tingling away on the small of her back and in the palm of her hand. She smiled fondly. "But if you'll stop bugging me about it, I'll go with you. As a coworker."

"Of course," he said. Then he started walking away from her down the hallway. He waved without turning around and called as he retreated, "But you remember what happened the last time we agreed on that, don't you?"

* * *

><p>Sakura glared at her reflection in the mirror. All of the different parts looked great. After she'd showered, her hair had dried into nice, loose waves that she'd embellished with a black headband that had a bow on it and kept her bangs out of her face. She'd spent a solid forty-five minutes on her make-up, working with eyeshadows until she'd found the perfect color combination to complement her green eyes, and she'd debated between red and pink lipstick for five whole minutes before deciding pink would be best. Her dress was a bright, sultry red, cinched at the waist with a black ribbon, with ruffles along the neckline and a small cut-out on the front, just to flash the tiniest amount of cleavage. And last but not least, she'd picked out a pair of shoes she hadn't worn in ages - a pair of platform Mary Jane pumps - and her legs looked damn good in them.<p>

The only problem was that while all of these things worked well enough on their own, she didn't like the way they all looked together. And that frustrated her. She'd spent so long, putting herself together for this stupid party that she didn't even want to go to, and now she wasn't comfortable with what she'd done. Everything clashed in her eyes - the pink lips didn't match the red dress, the hair was too casual for a semi-formal event, the shoes were childish and were a different shade of black from the ribbon at her waist. Nothing was right.

But then, she realized with an exasperated sigh, nothing was wrong either. She could spend all night putting together hundreds of different outfits and she could do her hair twenty times over, and she would still pick herself apart. Because when it all boiled down, she didn't care much for her own approval, but rather the approval of her "date".

Why did she care so much? They were just two teachers who taught in the same classroom and happened to be attracted to each other and might have slept with each other once. Beyond that, she couldn't say for certain that there were any other feelings. At least, not on his end. By this point in time, she'd resigned herself to the fact that she might still have a teeny tiny crush on him, but she couldn't say the same for him. Although if the glances her threw her way and the gentle way he touched her were any indication, he saw her as a lot more than just his student teacher.

Of course, none of these thoughts made her any less anxious about the way she looked. So she decided she would no longer dwell upon them. She glanced at the clock on the wall above the door to her apartment and started - she was going to be late if she didn't leave immediately. So she did, regardless of the fact that she was still unhappy with how she'd done herself up.

Fortunately, Ino lived within walking distance, though the walk to her house wasn't comfortable. By the time she reached the front door of the blonde's house, her feet were aching and when she rang the doorbell, she wondered if she should have opted for more sensible shoes. Ino was at the door in seconds, smiling and pulling Sakura into a big, tight hug.

"Thanks for coming!" she exclaimed, and she had that troublemaking look in her eyes again.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Ino," Sakura replied. Ino dragged her through the living room and into the backyard, where a canopy of twinkling lights shined above them, mimicking stars, and slow, calming music was playing over a stereo system Sakura couldn't see. The yard was packed with a few people she recognized and a lot more people she didn't. She was growing anxious - the only person she recognized that she had actually ever spoken to was Tsunade, and she didn't want to get stuck talking to that crazy woman. Where was Kakashi, anyway? "Um, Ino, where-"

"Are the drinks?" Ino finished, perking up. Her eyes sparkled in a way that told Sakura quiet clearly that Ino knew that was not what she was going to say. "I'll go get you some! You wait right here, okay?"

Ino disappeared into a crowd of people as Sakura meekly replied, "Okay." She was now standing alone at a party full of people she worked with, but didn't really know. How awkward. She looked down at her feet and noticed that she was standing on a cheap-looking, probably rented faux wood dance floor. Not knowing what to do with herself, she started scratching the back of her neck. Ino knew her better than she knew herself - alcohol would be nice right about now.

She felt somebody tap her shoulder and she whirled around, ready to gratefully accept the drink Ino had to offer, only it wasn't Ino. It was Kakashi, donning a pair of dark jeans and a crisp, black button down and oh, he looked good in black. There was no scarf to block his slightly crooked mouth tonight and she could see the faint shadow of stubble on his cheeks. A wave of self-consciousness washed over her and she fought back the urge to cross her arms over her chest.

"Thank goodness you're here," he said. "She keeps asking me who my date is."

Sakura knew he was talking about Ino. "Why didn't you just tell her?" she asked.

"I'm sure she already had a hunch. And I thought it would be better as a surprise, anyway."

"Probably not," Sakura grumbled.

"Don't be in a foul mood, please," he said soothingly. "You look so gorgeous in that dress, I'd bet a smile would make you look even better."

She blushed at his compliment, but smiled for him nonetheless. With that comment, she noticed the way he was eyeing her, not hungrily like he often did, but rather like he was trying to commit this version of her to memory. All of her worries about her appearance vanished and she suddenly felt very confident about herself. "You don't look too bad yourself," she said.

"I pale in comparison to you." Already, he was throwing aside her warning to keep this date of theirs strictly professional. And what was more, she didn't mind. At all. She _liked _the way he made her feel when he spoke about her like that, like she was the most beautiful person in the whole world. And she wondered if she would enjoy that feeling as much if it was coming from anybody else but him. _No,_ she thought decidedly. _Probably not._

"Care to dance?" he asked her, pausing her train of thought.

Her self-consciousness was back and she shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other. "Can I tell you a secret first?"

"If you think that's a good idea."

She chuckled. "I lied to you the other day," she admitted quietly. "_I'm_ the terrible dancer."

"Well, lucky for you, I know how to dance."

Just like a couple days ago, when he'd taken her by the hand and started twirling her in the hallway, he put his hand on her waist and pulled her close to him. In time with the music, he swayed them side to side, keeping his hand firm against the small of her back. She could hear him humming along to the music with his eyes closed and when she leaned her head down onto his shoulder, she could feel the gentle vibration of his voice through his body.

"Don't look now," he said, "but Ino is pretending that she's not watching us."

Disobediently, Sakura lifted her head and craned her neck around until she could see Ino, sitting at the bar and making obscene gestures with her hips as she pointed to the drinks in front of her. Sakura scoffed, "So distasteful."

"When did she find out?"

"A month ago," Sakura sighed. "She picked up on what the kids were saying about us."

"And when she asked you about it, what did you say?" he asked, his voice rough and low in her ear.

"Well, first, I said you were disgusting." She felt him smile against her neck. "Then I told her you were a pervert, and she completely agreed."

"Naturally," he said. "What else?"

"And then after I was done telling her that you got me drunk and had your way with me, I told her..."

"Told her what?" Kakashi prompted eagerly, pressing a small kiss to to the curve of her neck.

Sakura pulled back slightly and wrapped her arms around his neck, getting closer to him, so close that their chests were now pressed flush together. One of her hands rose to toy with his hair. She smirked and said, "That I liked it."

He made a sound akin to a growl and nipped the skin beneath her ear. "How much?"

"A lot," Sakura admitted.

He moved away from her neck and brought his head up to look into her eyes. "Enough to consider doing it again some time?" he asked.

She hummed in thought for a moment, then slid her hands down to the collar of his shirt. "Only if you don't get me drunk first," she said. Then she pulled him forward and forced his lips onto hers, and he was quick to respond, parting her lips and exploring her mouth with his tongue. She giggled quietly when he bit down on her lower lip and tugged at it, but the moment was short-lived.

A clattering of dishes and the delicious smell of a well-prepared meal distracted them, along with frenzied shouts of "Food!" and a familiar, snide voice telling them to get a room - which they almost certainly would later.

"Are you hungry?" Sakura asked him.

"Not for food," he replied, eyeing her up and down.

"Pervert."

She playfully pushed herself away from him and sat down at a tabled adorned with a red tablecloth and red and pink china. Kakashi took the spot across from her, nestled uncomfortably between Ino and Tsunade, and Sakura tried desperately not to laugh at him.

The food was divine, or maybe Sakura was just really hungry. She finished before almost everybody else and was content to sit and watch the couples around her flirt until Kakashi finished and they could get back to their own flirting. But when he finished his meal and she looked up at him, he didn't look playful anymore. Instead, he had a serious, but fond look on his face when he stood up and raised his glass.

Somebody at the far end of the table gasped, "_Kakashi_ is making the toast?"

Ino automatically leaned forward and whispered to Sakura, "It's customary. After dinner, a couple people usually make toasts to honor their loved ones. Usually, the first toast is made by someone who has an actual significant other, but I suppose fuck buddies are okay, too."

Sakura reached out and smacked her hand, then turned her attention to Kakashi. He cleared his throat and began, "A toast... To the brightest student I ever taught, and the most amazing woman I've ever met." A chorus of claps erupted around them, quieting after a short moment. He looked awkward and slightly uncomfortable as he continued, "Many of you know that I haven't had the best of luck with romance, but I think that's going to change soon. I, uh... haven't been this scared in a long time. I don't have anything prepared - really, I only decided I was going to do this about five minutes ago. But, here's my valentine." He tipped his glass toward Sakura and winked at her. "The world's an ugly place, but you're so beautiful to me. And I would be _honored_ if you would join me on a date - a real one this time - say, tomorrow night?"

She blushed, recalling their first "date". Everybody turned their heads toward her, whooping and cheering and shouting words of encouragement, all of them convincing her to take him up on the offer. And even though she was sure there was something wrong with dating a colleague, and something even more wrong about _publicly_ dating a colleague, she confidently replied, "Sure. Yes. A date, tomorrow night." She paused for only a second before adding, "A sober one."

The teachers at the table exploded again into applause and laughter, some of them getting out of their seats to clap Kakashi on the back. The conversation took a general turn toward this budding relationship they saw before them, and the general consensus, as far as Sakura could tell, was that she was a far better choice than his last girlfriend and they all hoped she'd stick around.

And she had no intentions of disappearing on him.

Even though they were two very different people - Kakashi, aloof and perpetually smug about something and Sakura in a constant state of comical bitterness - there was something that drew them together. A string between them that fell slack or pulled taught with every word they said, every joke they made at the other's expense. There were going to be things they loved about each other, things they didn't care for, and things they absolutely hated. In short, there was plenty they had left to learn about each other before this thing between them became a real, true relationship.

But then, they were both excellent teachers. The learning would be the easiest part.

* * *

><p><em>AN: This is something I've been tossing around in my head for a long time, so when the AU Challenge was announced on the KakaSaku LJ Community, I knew what I had to do. If I'd had more time, I probably would have made this several chapters long, but I think I like it shorter now that I've written it. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed. :)  
><em>


End file.
